34 years ago today, Disney released an absolute classic in theaters that was such a masterpiece that animated feature films were never seen the same way again. Disney’s legacy has gone through lots of ebb and flows when it comes to its animated feature films. Although the studio had started out strong, these early efforts still had a few bumps in the road compared to some of the other later efforts. There was a period of refinement that really kicked in during the early 1990s, and had many Disney films that would end up being considered as part of a “renaissance” for the company overall.
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While not the first film of the Disney Renaissance era, Beauty and the Beast really changed things for the world of animation. Hitting theaters 34 years ago today on November 22, 1991, Beauty and the Beast was Disney’s most critically and commercially successful animated film to date. Not only doing very well in the box office, it was such a hit that it was the very first animated film to ever be nominated for the Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Which ultimately carved out a whole new slice for animation going forward.
The Disney Renaissance Just Hit Different
The Disney Renaissance Era is generally agreed on by fans to range from about 1989 to right around 2000, depending on who you ask. It was an initiative by Disney to shake things up by returning more to their grandiose, Broadway style of music for their animated efforts and resulted with the immediate success enjoyed by the first effort of this new era, The Little Mermaid. But then it was followed up by the less successful The Rescuers Down Under, which had its fans by just didn’t hit that same level of recognition of its predecessor. But things were different with Beauty and the Beast.
The third film of the Disney Renaissance, Beauty and the Beast was a very loose adaptation of the fairy tale of the same name. Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, with a screenplay from Linda Woolverton, this film was also the thirtieth entry in Disney’s animated history overall. All signs were good moving forward, and fans were treated with one of the best Disney animated films ever. Introducing the world to a young girl named Belle (who was more interested in books than finding love), she ended up being trapped within a dark and dreary castle together with a mysterious and aggressive Beast.
This “beast” was actually a young prince who had denied help to a woman, and was cursed to be a monster reminiscent of his monstrous personality. But as Belle was a prisoner within his castle, she slowly began to realize that the “beast” was much less monstrous than the village below had painted him as. There was a sensitive person underneath it all, and that back and forth between them is something that Disney just kind of nailed to the point where it was the most success the company had in a long time.
How Beauty and the Beast Changed Animated Movies
Regardless of your feelings about the content of the movie itself (as fans have continued to point out the strange, almost Stockholm Syndrome influenced relationship between the main duo), it was immediately clear that Beauty and the Beast kicked off a whole new era. It was the very first animated film to win the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture that year, and was later the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It didn’t win that final award, but still took home others for Original Score and Original Song for the titular “Beauty and the Beast” track.
This marked a whole new kind of respect for animation. It’s still a big problem today where members of the Academy still believe animated movies are just for kids, and don’t pay the proper respect to the medium. Beauty and the Beast was such a masterpiece for Disney that it broke through all of that to strike at the wide audience. It forced those around it to pay attention, and was undeniable. So while it wasn’t the first of this Disney Renaissance, it was the first film to really cement that Disney was changing.
From here on out it was a decade of bangers that followed with the likes of Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas and much more that were able to ride on the tails of Beauty and the Beast. The film kicked the doors open and made the world pay attention. It was such a hit that we’ve seen all sorts of Broadway musicals, live-action reboots, direct to video sequels and much more launched in the decades since that all just highlight how Beauty and the Beast is just untouchable even after all this time.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
